Million-Dollar Gift to University of Michigan School of Nursing Motivated by Family History and Desire to Improve Maternal Care

She didn’t know it at the time, of course, but her own birth would inspire Eleanore (Maitland) Higginson’s career path and an incredible gift to the University of Michigan.

“I was a twin but my brother was stillborn, and my mother barely survived herself because of the terrible care she received,” says Ellie. “As I grew older, I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of difference better care could have made. The outcome could have been entirely different.”

Ellie says she learned early on how lives can be impacted by support from various sources, from family to universities. “No one in my family had even graduated from high school,” she says. “But when I decided to become a nurse, my mother focused on getting me into a program that had a bachelor’s degree, not just a certificate.”

That program turned out to be the University of Michigan School of Nursing (UMSN), where Ellie received financial support. “I picked Michigan because they had the funds to help me; otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to get through the program.” During Ellie’s time in the late 1950s and early 60s at UMSN, it was a year-round program that ran for five years.

Ellie says she was drawn to courses in obstetrics and pediatrics. After graduation, she worked at University Hospital and taught nursing students in the labor and delivery area.

When Ellie married George Higginson, a rising officer in the U.S. Air Force, she found herself frequently on the move. “I felt sorry for Ellie every time I got a promotion,” says George. “I was torn because it meant we had to move and Ellie had to start all over again.”

But Ellie says the foundation of her UMSN education helped with the transitions. “I’d have to reinvent myself, but that cross section of clinical settings I had to adapt to was really helpful in the long run. Throughout my career, I realized that Michigan education was influential in everything else I did in life.”

Ellie’s career spanned more than 40 years in various nursing positions including gynecologic oncology and wound care.

Now that George and Ellie are retired, they have been looking for philanthropic opportunities. Through their estate, the Higginsons committed a one-million-dollar gift to create UMSN’s first professorship in midwifery. “We both really believe in education and wanted to do something that would last beyond us,” says George. “We thought it would be appropriate to devote our funds to something that would go on in perpetuity.”

The Higginsons say they were drawn to UMSN’s efforts in global education and health care. “Not only will this help Michigan students, but through the school’s initiatives we can have an impact throughout the world,” says George. “It’s just wonderful.”

As for Ellie, she says she feels grateful to know the gift has the potential to erase the type of care her mother received. “Having funds for a professorship is going to deepen the ability of the school to offer much more for students who will one day be caring for patients,” she says. “The thought that there will be an ongoing educational component that we helped to contribute to is marvelous.”